This invention relates to a connector having a housing formed with a lance which is configured to be engaged with a contact inserted in an accommodating portion of the housing.
For example, this type of connectors is disclosed in JP-A 2003-59573 or JP-A 2010-27230, contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The lance of the connector disclosed in JP-A 2003-59573 has a cross-section comprising a contact-side region (i.e. a region located near a contact) and an opposite-side region (i.e. a region opposite to the contact-side region). The contact-side region has a larger area than the opposite-side region so that it is possible to securely hold the contact while the contact is easily inserted (see FIG. 18).
The connector disclosed in JP-A 2010-27230 has a housing formed with a lance therewithin. The lance has a lateral wall and a vertical wall so as to have an L-shaped cross-section (see FIG. 19). According to JP-A 2010-27230, it is possible to keep the strength of the lance even when the connector has a reduced size.
However, the structures of the connector of JP-A 2003-59573 are not suitable to reduce the size of the connector. As for the connector of JP-A 2010-27230, the contact may not be easily inserted into the connector when the connector has a holding power which holds the contact securely.